Starting today, Valley diners have four days to feed their Valentine's Day passions.
Restaurants are taking full advantage of the holiday falling on a Monday this year by setting up romantic tables-for-two all weekend for what is the second-busiest dining event of the year after Mother's Day. That means sweethearts have more days to schedule a special night out. And they have more options, from prix-fixe aphrodisiac dinners Friday to luxe lunches on Monday.
Mondays are always a slow night for dining out, but restaurants that are usually closed are opening their doors and extending their weekend hours to cater to Cupid. And many think it could be a profitable Valentine's this year.
"Friday's shaping up good, Saturday's shaping up good, Sunday has more reservations than usual and Monday is shaping up quite nice," Christopher Gross, chef and owner of Christopher's and Crush Lounge in central Phoenix, said Tuesday. "I thought people would go out over the weekend and say, 'I don't want to go out on Monday.' "
The extended holiday allows restaurants to turn Monday into a moneymaker. Most restaurateurs consider a Monday Valentine's Day an advantage, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association.
Arizona's restaurant industry welcomes the help.
Sales growth last year of 2 percent paled with that of previous years and was a dramatic drop from 2005's 8.1 percent.
This year, Arizona restaurant sales are expected to grow 3.5 percent, close to the national average, said the Arizona Restaurant Association.
For the first time, T. Cook's at the Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix is hosting a Valentine's Day lunch. About 75 people made reservations as early as two weeks ago for Monday, and the restaurant expects to be at capacity all weekend.
"To give them another option than just going out to dinner, we wanted to do a special lunch," said executive sous chef Sarah Baer.
To make it romantic, Baer says the restaurant has added to the menu a petite filet mignon, lobster and a his-and-hers bruschetta.
Some restaurants see Valentine's Day as an opportunity to build repeat business.
"During these times, we experience guests who haven't been with us before, and we want to make sure to make a good impression," said Don Moore, general manager at the Yard House's Scottsdale Fashion Square location. The chain's Valley locations are serving a special menu today through Monday.
Other restaurant staffs plan to work on days they typically take off.
Posh restaurant owner Josh Hebert closes his Scottsdale restaurant on Sundays and Mondays. But the online reservation company Open Table is booking reservations there for Sunday, and "everybody assumes we're not crazy enough to close on a Monday because it's Valentine's Day," he said.
Coup des Tartes is one of the Valley's most romantic restaurants - it started booking Valentine's Day around Christmas - and is also closed on Sundays and Mondays. But for this Valentine's Day, the intimate 1930s bungalow in Phoenix will open both days. "We make it very romantic, with rose petals on the tables, roses on the mantelpiece, cute, funny little books on the tables like astrology for lovers and questions to ask your lover," said longtime server Tiffany Saftchick.
Operations at both of chef Kevin Binkley's restaurants are ramping up for the holiday.
Binkley is opening his neighborhood bistro, Cafe Bink in Carefree, on Monday, a day it's usually closed, to serve rack of lamb and whole roasted fish for two. And the staff at his fine-dining restaurant, Binkley's in Cave Creek, is working Sunday, typically their day off, to prep for Monday night's elaborate 21-course menu. It includes tastes of veal osso buco, black-truffle gnocchi and Maine lobster for $115 per person.
But at Taberna Mexicana, managers are expecting Valentine's Day itself to be relatively slow. The new Scottsdale restaurant will add staff today and Saturday and offer a $50-per-person dinner. "Although we'll have some people celebrating on Monday, and we'll have some offerings, the traditional Valentine's businesses will be (today) and Saturday," general manager Michael Hammes said Tuesday.
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